‘Interesting discussions’: Donald Trump and Tiger Woods hold talks on golf’s rift

  • Woods joins PGA delegation at White House on Thursday
  • LIV representatives also present in Washington

Donald Trump’s involvement in professional golf’s peace talks has ramped up, with Tiger Woods among those afforded an audience with the US president at the White House on Thursday afternoon.

Woods joined the PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, his fellow board member Adam Scott and representatives of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in a meeting hosted by Trump amid increasing hopes the fractured sport can unite over the coming months. Key sticking points were expected to surround the precise role for Yasir al-Rumayyan, PIF’s governor, in golf’s new world and where the Saudi-established LIV Tour sits on the sport’s schedule.

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Tiger Woods expects Trump talks to see LIV golfers back on PGA Tour in 2025

  • PGA Tour board members met Trump at start of February
  • ‘I think things are going to heal quickly’ says Woods

Tiger Woods has claimed LIV golfers could make a sensational return to the PGA Tour this year after the direct involvement of Donald Trump in the sport’s unification talks.

Elite golf has been in a fractured state since the launch of the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV circuit in 2022. A key upshot was the generally acrimonious departure of several big names from the PGA Tour to LIV. Despite the signing of a framework agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in the summer of 2023, the pace of progress has been glacial.

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Patrick Reed hits hole-in-one on famed party hole at LIV Golf Adelaide

  • American golfer showered by crowd after ace on Watering Hole
  • Cameron Smith makes steady start on day one at Grange Golf Club

American Patrick Reed has sparked wild scenes and been showered in drinks after sinking a hole-in-one during the first round of the LIV Golf event in Adelaide.

The former US Masters champion aced the famous watering hole on just his second hole of the day as the tournament got off to a raucous start at Grange Golf Club on Friday.

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LIV Golf strikes blow with deal to show live coverage on ITV

  • Broadcaster to show 41 rounds from 41 tournaments
  • The 2025 LIV season has just started in Saudi Arabia

LIV Golf has struck its latest blow to the sport’s establishment by securing a free-to-air television deal in the UK. ITV will screen 41 rounds from 41 tournaments of the Saudi Arabian-backed rebel tour in what marks a stark change for golf in the UK broadcast market.

The BBC’s gradual withdrawal from showing live golf means Sky essentially controls all coverage of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and majors. It had been widely assumed there was no appetite for free-to-air golf in this market. However, LIV surprisingly announced it had bucked the trend just as its 2025 season teed off in Riyadh. Round two of that event will be the first to appear on ITV.

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Tiger Woods announces death of mother Kultida, ’my biggest fan’

  • Former world No 1 announces death of mother at 78
  • Kultida Woods attended son’s TGL match last week

Tiger Woods announced on Tuesday that his mother Kultida had passed away, paying tribute to her as “my biggest fan”.

“It is with heartfelt sadness that I want to share that my dear mother, Kultida Woods, passed away early this morning,” the 15-time major champion wrote on Instagram.

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Rory McIlroy wins at ‘cathedral of golf’ Pebble Beach for 27th PGA Tour title

  • McIlroy highlights include eagle on par-five 14th
  • Ireland’s Shane Lowry secures second on his own

Rory McIlroy claimed the 27th PGA Tour title of his career with an impressive victory at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. McIlroy made an eagle and five birdies in a superb final round of 66 to finish 21 under par, a shot outside the tournament record set by Brandt Snedeker in 2015.

Playing partner Shane Lowry birdied the 18th to secure outright second on 19 under, with Justin Rose making an eagle on the same hole to share third place with American Lucas Glover. “Some people would argue the golf courses I have won on are not up to a Pebble Beach or an Augusta, but to win at one of the cathedrals of golf is really, really cool,” McIlroy told CBS.

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Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry both hit hole-in-ones at Pebble Beach Pro-Am

  • Irish golfers hit perfect shots at first round in California
  • Rory McIlroy hits 66 and trails Russell Henley by two

Rory McIlroy celebrated a hole-in-one on his way to carding a score of 66 in the opening round at California’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The 35-year-old Northern Irishman found the cup with a sand wedge on the par-three 15th hole at Spyglass Hill Golf Course and will now head into Friday’s second round sitting two shots behind leader Russell Henley.

The hole-in-one marked the second career ace for McIlroy, who made his first during the 2023 Travellers Championship.

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Ryder Cup hopefuls forced to listen to ‘U-S-A, U-S-A’ chants before Team Cup

  • Europeans get a taste of Bethpage mood over PA system
  • Luke Donald says tournament has ‘massive importance’

Luke Donald gave his potential Ryder Cup players a taste of what to expect at Bethpage as he hailed the “massive importance” of this week’s Team Cup. Footage posted on social media showed players forced to listen to chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A” over the PA system before practice rounds at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort.

The Team Cup, which effectively filled the gap left by the Seve Trophy, was revived in 2023 to boost Europe’s chances of regaining the Ryder Cup, a move which paid off with a resounding victory under Donald’s captaincy in Rome. Donald will captain the side again in New York in September – where a hostile atmosphere is expected – and is also overseeing the Team Cup, where Francesco Molinari will bid for a second win as captain of Continental Europe against a Great Britain and Ireland side led by Justin Rose.

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Manchester United, Ryder Cup and Lions tour: 12 sport storylines for 2025

Everton’s new stadium, Women’s Rugby World Cup and potentially close Ashes series – new year has much to offer

Next season one narrative will surely dominate F1 when Lewis Hamilton dons his new scarlet race suit and climbs into a Ferrari for the first competitive session at the opening race in Australia. His move from Mercedes after 12 seasons and six titles was a huge shock and this new start could not be more gripping. How will he fare in a new team at the age of 40, a new culture at Maranello, a team that has a history of making and breaking drivers? Better still the prospect of him ending Ferrari’s drivers’ title drought that now stretches back to 2007 and in so doing claiming a record-breaking eighth world championship across three different teams. Or will it be a testing and turbulent opening year, far from his comfort zone? One way or another Hamilton and Ferrari will be impossible to ignore and it’s mouth-watering stuff. Giles Richards

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World No 1 Scottie Scheffler has surgery after freak Christmas dinner injury

  • American cuts hand on broken glass during festive period
  • Golfer will now miss the first tournament of season

The men’s world No 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has had surgery on a hand injury he sustained while cooking Christmas dinner. The 28-year-old American has been forced to withdraw from the first tournament of the season, next week’s the Sentry in Hawaii, after cutting his right hand on broken glass.

The PGA Tour said: “World No 1 and 2024 FedEx Cup Champion Scottie Scheffler has withdrawn from the PGA Tour’s 2025 season-opening tournament, the Sentry, which will take place next week, 2-5 January at the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii.”

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Blades Brown, top-ranked high school golfer in US, to skip college and turn pro

  • Brown, 17, will make PGA Tour debut in January
  • Nashville native is top-ranked high school golfer

High school junior Blades Brown, the top-ranked golfer in the Class of 2026, announced Tuesday that he’s turning pro.

In a lengthy post on Instagram, Brown said he won’t play college golf and will make his PGA Tour debut at The American Express at La Quinta, California, in January.

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